Bertolt Hoover (ベルトルト・フーバーBerutoruto Fūbā?, also spelled as Bertholdt Hoover in the FUNimation sub of the anime) was a warrior from a mysterious place outside the Walls he only referred to as his hometown. He was also a graduate of the 104th Training Corps and a former member of the Survey Corps. He ranked 3rd in the Training Corps, and was described by others as a weak-willed and quiet person.

Along with Reiner Braun and Annie Leonhart, he was a person that possessed the ability to transform into a Titan and served an as-yet unrevealed group. In the year 845, he was on a mission with Reiner to breach Wall Maria and infiltrate the Military in search of the Coordinate. As the Colossus Titan, he served as a major antagonist.

Contents

Appearance

Human Form

Bertolt's character design for the anime

Bertolt was a rather tall, slender young man. He was the tallest of all currently known Titan Shifters, both in human and Titan form, and one of the tallest characters in the series, his Titan form only being outmatched by the abnormal Rod Reiss. He had short, dark hair, brown eyes, thin eyebrows and an elongated face. In the anime his eyes are green. He was seen mainly in his Trainee uniform, and after he enters the Survey Corps, he uses their uniform. After his encounter with the Beast Titan, his hair appeared shorter.

Titan form

As the Colossus Titan, he possessed a very distinctive appearance and a number of unusual features. He grew to roughly 60 meters tall, making him around four times the height of any other Titan seen thus far (with the only exception of Rod Reiss' Titan form).

Bertolt's Colossus Titan form is one of the more heavily-deformed Titans seen in the series - he appeared to lack skin entirely and his jaw and facial structure seemed to be heavily altered from the human form. He was also constantly releasing jets of steam from the surface of its body, in a manner that parallels his frequent nervous sweating. His feet were also quite different to those of a human and other Titans, as they were swollen and pillar-like in appearance. His physiology was modeled after the male sex, but like all Titans, he lacked sexual organs. He had slim arms in comparison to his body and legs. He appeared to be the only one who does not leave a Titan body behind after returning to human form, seeming to evaporate into thin air.

Personality

Bertolt was a quiet young man who identified himself as someone with a weak will that follows popular opinion. Likewise, his instructor noted him to be a person with great potential, but an utter lack of initiative.[6] He was further described by Eren Yeager as being taciturn, and Bertolt tended to remain in the background unless necessary. By his own admission, he is something of a coward and is noted for his low self-esteem.

His withdrawn behavior initially led to the impression of him being the least emotionally compromised of the three Titan agents. He showed little attachment or remorse over his actions, seeming to care only about his partner, Reiner.[7] However, when confronted by his former comrades and questioned about their friendship, he revealed himself to be far more conflicted and guilt-ridden than it originally appeared. His claims of not having a choice add a further level of ambiguity to his character, leaving many of his actions in question.[8]

He showed great devotion to both of his fellow agents, Reiner Braun and Annie Leonhart, and was easily driven to action or anger when he felt either was threatened.[9] Initially, he showed himself to be wary of others and acted as a voice of reason to Reiner, cautioning him repeatedly about lowering his guard. His interactions with Ymir reveal that while his actions have caused considerable suffering, he was not a cruel person and is capable of showing genuine kindness towards others.[10]

Bertolt did not show complete disregard for the human race and his 104th Training Corps friends. He showed panic and slight tears when he, Reiner, and Annie left Marco Bott to die.[11] When confronted by Armin Arlert, he referred to his former comrades as "cherished friends" and repeatedly stated that they are not at fault.[12] This leaves the impression that Bertolt's reasons for wanting them to die are not personal, and are due to unknown factors outside of their current comprehension or knowledge. Bertolt once more shows sympathy for his old friends by expressing his disappointment in the waste of Armin's intelligence as he dies. He then decides to burn him as quickly as possible to put him out of his misery.[13]

History

Bertolt comes from a mysterious location simply referred to as his hometown (or homeland), and began a mission to attack humanity in the year 845. Little is known about his life prior to undertaking his mission, other than the fact that Reiner and Marcel were his childhood friends.[14] The exact nature of their group, and their mission is yet unknown. It is stated that their goal was to exterminate humanity, but their mission also involved locating and retrieving the Beast Titan[15] and the mysterious ability called the Coordinate, previously possessed by the Reiss family and now under the possession of Eren Yeager.[16] At some point prior to attacking Wall Maria, he encountered Ymir's Titan form while traveling with Reiner and Marcel. Still in a mindless state, she attacked the three boys and nearly killed Reiner. Marcel ended up sacrificing his life to protect his friends, while Bertolt appears to have fled in terror and possibly abandoned the other two in the process.[17]

Story

Bertolt makes his first appearance in his Colossus Titan form, terrorizing the population of Shiganshina and kicking a hole in Wall Maria. His actions allow the normal Titans dwelling outside to enter Shiganshina and eat many of its inhabitants, including Carla Yeager.

After creating the breach in Wall Maria, Bertolt resumes his human form and does not turn into the Colossus Titan again for five years. During the abandonment of Wall Maria, Bertolt passes himself off as a refugee and enlists in the military academy as part of the 104th Trainee Squad, graduating within the Top Ten.

Eventually, Bertolt joined the military, with aspirations of joining the Military Police and living in the safety of the inner Wall. As part of the 104th, he was considered to be one of the best in regards to vertical maneuvering equipment, enough so that Eren Yeager came to him for advice when he was dealing with faulty equipment.[18]

After seeing Eren's determination and desire to join the Survey Corps, he considered himself a coward for wanting to get far away from them. However, Eren encouraged him, saying that after witnessing the attack on his village, no one would blame him for his decision. Eventually, he graduated in the top ten of his class coming in at third place, just under his friend Reiner.

Bertolt reappears as the Colossus Titan five years later in 850, breaching Wall Rose so that his brethren can once again devour the humans inside. He is almost immediately attacked by Eren Yeager, but Bertolt first repels and blinds him with vapor from his high temperature body before vanishing completely from view. This attack prompts the Garrison to create the Colossus Titan contingency plan for Trost District.

When Armin, Mikasa and Connie made it to the headquarters, with the help of the Rogue Titan, Armin devised a plan to get rid of the Titans in the supply room. Bertolt, part of the second group, came in from the ceiling and killed his target in one blow. The mission a success and everyone resupplied, he and the rest of the group leave the headquarters.[19]

On the way out, he joins Mikasa and others on a rooftop as they watch the rogue Titan being eaten by other Titans. Reiner suggests helping it out, but ultimately it ends up not being necessary as the Titan fights his way out upon seeing the Titan that ate Thomas. After the rogue Titan kills it, the Titan collapses, and Bertolt is among the first people to learn of Eren's ability.

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In the aftermath of the failed mission to capture the Female Titan, Bertolt is among the recruits placed under observation at an old mansion and suspected of being a potential accomplice to Annie.[20] He is shown to have occupied his time playing chess with Reiner, and quickly becomes involved in the operation to investigate the Titans that appeared within Wall Rose. Reiner requests his assistance on the Southern squad headed for Connie Springer's village, which is later discovered to be deserted.[21]

That evening, the Southern squad meets up with Ymir and Krista's squad, and they decide to take refuge for the night in Utgard Castle.[22] At some point during the night, the castle comes under attack by Titans and the recruits are forced to defend the interior from the smaller Titans that have invaded.[23] After Reiner takes off on his own to investigate, Bertolt offers a strange observation of his friend's "bad habit" of risking himself for others. When a Titan manages to break through a stairwell door, he comes to Reiner's defense with a pitchfork and helps fight it off. The two reaffirm their promise to survive and return to their home together.[24]

After a second Titan manages to enter and injure Reiner, he helps Ymir toss it out a window.[25] Afterwards, he begins to behave in a withdrawn manner and responds to questions about how Reiner was in the past with a strange comment about how Reiner has changed and is no longer a "warrior". However, he refuses to elaborate further on the subject.[26]

Eventually, their superiors are killed by the attacking Titans and the rookies are left defenseless. This drives Ymir to reveal herself to be a Titan, using her powers to protect the others. He, along with Reiner, are shocked to recognize her as the Titan that had killed their friend, Marcel, several years earlier.[27]

Mikasa attacks Bertolt

The group is eventually rescued by Hange Zoë's squad and evacuate to the Wall, with the intention of regrouping with their main forces. Injured and distressed over their ordeal, Reiner breaks down under the stress and confesses their identities to Eren while Bertolt watches in growing distress. When Eren tries to tell Reiner that he's just tired and making Things up Bertolt agrees relivered, thinking Eren might not have believed what he said. This doesn't last though, as an enraged Reiner shortly after tears of his bandage and visibly heals his hand. Bertolt, shocked by his actions, asks if they are going to reveal themselves then and now, but before they are able to transform the two of them are viciously attacked and almost killed by Mikasa.[28]

Bertolt and Reiner transform into their Titan forms

Critically wounded and terrified, Bertolt transforms into a partial Titan form and begins to attack the soldiers on the Wall while Reiner attempts to kidnap Eren. In the chaos, he manages to capture Ymir and a random soldier, swallowing them both whole.[29] Afterwards, he counters an attack by Hange's squad through generating intense heat and steam, burning anyone that gets too close.[30] He remains in a skeleton-like state, burning profusely to prevent any attack against him.

Bertolt falls on Eren and Reiner

Reiner then roars to signal his distress. In response, Bertolt topples from the Wall and lands on top of a fighting Eren and Reiner, exploding upon impact.[31] The resulting explosion wounds most of the scouts, and allows Reiner and Bertolt to successfully capture Eren and flee the scene. Bertolt emerges from his Titan form carrying Ymir and wearing the stolen equipment of a soldier he devoured.[32] Several hours later, he takes refuge with Reiner and their two captives in the Titan Forest. However, he is mostly silent during the following arguments and discussions, only speaking up when prompted by Ymir or Eren.

Bertolt responds to Reiner's strange behavior with great distress, and is shown to have known about it long before anyone else. He is able to bring his friend back to reality by informing him that he is not a soldier, but rather that they are both "warriors".[33] Ymir guesses this to have been the cause of previous tensions between them that she had observed.

Eren later confronts him about his role in the death of Carla Yeager, demanding to know what he thought when he learned about the suffering he would caused. He responds with a vague comment about having felt sorry for him, horrifying Eren and leading him to scream at them both.[34] Eren expresses that they are murderers responsible for the genocide of innocent people. Reiner irritably says he is already aware, and Eren tells him to stop grieving as if he is a victim and that he is no longer human, being responsible for turning their world into a living hell. A frustrated Reiner asks what Eren wants from them then, if he wants for him apologize or atone for his actions or admit that killing is bad. He says that the person Eren once knew is dead and if it makes him feel any better, he can scream all he likes.[35] This gives Eren a new resolve, and he vows that they both will die horrible, excruciating deaths. Bertolt remains silent at this point, as Ymir finds Eren's assurance stupid yet amusing, but she questions Reiner on what the "ape-like Titan" was. Noting that Reiner and Bertolt both looked like gawking, excited children at his appearance, she reveals that the ape-like Titan must have been responsible for the sudden appearance of Titans from the south.[36] She thinks that it might be what they need to return to their hometown. Realizing Ymir might know something, Eren frivolously questions her on who the enemy is, in which she vaguely mutters a reply but is interrupted by Reiner. Reiner asks whether she believes that their world has a future, shocking everyone. He says that, considering all she knows, she should come to "their side" and return with them to their hometown. He insists that she is trustworthy, since they share the goal of protecting Krista and he can ensure her future in exchange for Ymir's cooperation.[37]

Bertolt and Reiner discuss whether to trust Ymir

Though she agrees to work with them, Bertolt remains unconvinced and warns Reiner that she cannot be trusted. He brings up the death of their friend, who was devoured by Ymir, though Reiner reassures them that she can be trusted since her only consideration is Krista's safety. Bertolt worries he may be slipping into his delusions again, but is reminded that Krista has value to them since she is a member of the Reiss family and may be able to provide them with important clues. They discuss their mission to find the "Coordinate", which may or may not be Eren, and Bertolt expresses his eagerness to go home and never return to the human lands.[38] Reiner responds by teasing him, demanding that he confess his feelings to Annie once they make it home. Bertolt attempts to protest, but Reiner claims his tendency to stare at her gave him away.

The pair notice a signal flare and realize the rescue team has already found them, and prepare to flee.[39] While Reiner subdues Eren, Bertolt confronts Ymir over the death of his friend. She states she has no memory of having done it, but apologizes to him and asks if he hates her. He admits he is not certain, but he can not hold her responsible since none of them wanted to devour humans. He asks how long she wandered as a mindless Titan, and implies that he and Reiner may have also spent some time trapped in their Titan forms in the past.[40]

As the group flees, Ymir notices the signal flares and becomes agitated. She demands that they kidnap Krista, and attacks Bertolt when they refuse. They are forced to land in the trees, and she further physically intimidates and threatens Bertolt until they relent.[41] Once Ymir returns from kidnapping Krista, he straps an unconscious Eren to his back and both cling to the Armored Titan's back as he runs from the pursuing troops.[42]

Realizing how close the troops have already gotten, he shouts at Ymir about having delayed them so much. He demands to know what they've been doing all this for, and whether she intends to abandon Krista inside the Walls to save herself.[43] His words get through to Ymir, and watches the exchange between the two women intently.

A short time later, Mikasa manages to get onto the Armored Titan's back and attacks Ymir before turning on Bertolt. To escape, he slips down onto the front of Reiner's neck and shouts for him to protect them. In response, Reiner cups his hands around his neck and encloses Bertolt and Eren safely against his neck.[44] Eren, now awake, begins to struggle and ignores all efforts to calm him down. The other members of the 104th Training Corps climb onto the Armored Titan's shoulders and begin to shout at Bertolt in his hiding place.

He initially attempts to ignore them, as Jean Kirstein and Connie Springer alternately attempt to coax him out and confront him over his betrayal. At last, he breaks into tears and yells at them that he never wanted to kill anyone. He confesses to having truly thought of the 104th as his friends, stating that their time together was very enjoyable. Even so, he refuses to surrender and return Eren, stating that "someone has to do it".[45]

Before he can elaborate any further, Hannes screams a warning to the group as Erwin Smith leads a horde of Titans directly towards them. This forces them to retreat for a time, while Reiner attempts to charge through the oncoming horde in his Titan form. It ultimately proves hopeless, and the Armored Titan is quickly overwhelmed by the large group and forced to begin using his hands to fight.[46] No longer protected by his partner, Bertolt is forced to defend himself when the soldiers return in force and attack him. Beginning to panic, he shouts to Reiner that they have to bring Eren back to their home.

Erwin releases Eren from Bertolt

He narrowly escapes another attack by Mikasa,[47] and is confronted by Armin, who reveals that Annie has been captured. Taunting Bertolt, he asks if they intend to abandon their comrade and claims that Annie is currently being tortured by the military for information, with great care being taken to ensure she does not die. This drives Bertolt into a rage, and distracts him long enough for a wounded Erwin to launch a surprise attack and free Eren.[48] Wounded, Bertolt can only watch in shock as the soldiers begin their retreat.

He remains perched on the Armored Titan's shoulder as it begins to hurl Titans at the fleeing soldiers, slowly healing his injuries. When Eren's power as the Coordinate activates, he senses it and reacts with shock.[49] The partners begin to pursue Eren once freed from the Titan horde attacking them, but this freedom is short-lived. Taking advantage of his new-found power, Eren screams at them to stay away and threatens to kill them. Both react with shock and horror, sensing Eren's power and realizing that it has directed the horde at them once again. Reiner initially attempts to protect him from attackers, but they are quickly overwhelmed and he is forced to fight on his own.[50]

Bertolt, Reiner and Ymir fighting together against the Titans

His screams draw Ymir's attention, causing her to hesitate in fleeing with the soldiers. Just as a Titan is about to kill him, Ymir appears and rescues him. The three Titan Shifters begin to fight together, while the human soldiers retreat back to the Walls.

The group, exhausted from their two-day ordeal, rest atop Wall Maria while attempting to make sense of things. He questions Ymir about her decision to save his life, and is shocked that her actions were motivated by gratitude for having been saved from her "eternal nightmare". Knowing that she faces an uncertain future when they return with her to their hometown, Bertolt struggles to hold back his tears while thanking her.[51]

Eren later expresses the desire to catch him and make him pay for his crimes, suggesting that he believes they survived.[52]

Two months after Historia Reiss was crowned queen, Bertolt and Reiner encounter the Beast Titan in Shiganshina. After witnessing Reiner's defeat at the Beast Titan's hands, Bertolt quickly pulled Reiner from his battered Titan form as the Beast Titan declared that the rescue of Annie Leonhart could wait until after they had acquired the Coordinate from Eren.[53]

Around the time the Survey Corps departs for their operation to retake Wall Maria, Bertolt and Reiner sit atop the Wall amongst a small camp site they would made. The two watch the sunset as they await the arrival of their enemies and prepare to begin their own operation.[54]

When the Survey Corps makes it to Shiganshina District, they begin rushing the gate with 100 soldiers to confuse the enemy. As Eren flies up above the breach in Wall Maria's southern gate, he prepares to transform. Just as this is happening, Reiner and Bertolt watch the corps from an unknown location, equipped with their vertical maneuvering equipment.[55] After a few moments, he sneaked out and hide in a prepared barrel. Later, after Eren battles Reiner, Bertolt has a flashback about Marco's death, showing that Annie, Reiner and himself were all involved. Soon after, Reiner lets out a roar, signalling Bertolt to be thrown in a barrel towards Reiner's position by Zeke.

The Colossus Titan arrives for the battle in Shiganshina

After seeing the near-dead Reiner, Bertolt abandons the original plan of transforming over the district and jumps out of the barrel. He rushes towards his friend, checking if he is alive, telling him to respond if he is still alive. He then heads towards Hange's squad.[56] When Hange orders everyone to attack Bertolt and Reiner, Armin convinces them to use this opportunity for one last negotiation with them. Bertolt is undeterred by Armin's attempt to use Annie to mislead him, saying she can not be used as leverage against him again. While Bertolt speaks with Armin, Mikasa swiftly appears behind Bertolt, trying to strike him down, but to no avail.[57] After fleeing the scene, he finalizes his resolve and maneuvers higher into the sky, transforming into the Colossus Titan and causing massive destruction to everything and everyone near to the blast.[58]

As the Colossus Titan, he begins to toss flaming houses and buildings around the district, setting nearly the entire city ablaze. He then heads north towards Commander Erwin's position, but is intercepted by Eren and the 104th recruits. Eren charges at Bertolt's leg, attempting to stop him in his tracks. With little effort, Bertolt lifts the leg with Eren's Titan dangling from it before sending Eren crashing into the top of Wall Maria with a swift kick.[59] The group charge at him to create a diversion for Mikasa to launch the Thunder Spear at his nape. He emits a searing hot gas which forces Mikasa to retreat and injures Connie in the process. After the group has sought temporary safety, he continues to destroy the district.[60]

The Colossus Titan falls

As Reiner recovers and begins to fight the Levi Squad, Bertolt notes that he was hoping to kill everyone with his transformation, but calmly shrugs it off, saying he is used to such trials.[61] He approaches Eren and Armin, who is trying to wake up the latter, wondering what Armin will do. Seconds later, Eren loses his balance and falls to the ground, motionless. Bertolt, thinking Eren is already beaten, decides to blow Armin away, and unleashes a burst of steam from his body.[62] However, much to his surprise, Armin latches onto his teeth and refuses to let go. He questions what Armin could possibly hope to achieve with Eren already beaten, but decides to finish him quickly and launches one final burst, charring Armin's skin and burning his hair off, sending him falling lifelessly to the rooftops below.[63]

Eren rips Bertolt out of the Colossus Titan

After observing Armin's burnt body, Bertolt moves over to Eren's Titan body, only to find it a hardened shell. He then realizes too late that Armin was buying Eren time to get out of his Titan form and used Bertolt's attack as a smokescreen. At that moment, a human Eren appears from behind, latching onto the Colossus Titan's nape and slicing it open, severing Bertolt's arms and legs, before ripping him out and dragging him down to the roof below where a ravaged yet alive Armin is lying.[64]

After being defeated and dragged out of his Colossus Titan, Bertolt is approached by Zeke and his Titan mount. Anticipating capture, Eren begins to slit Bertolt's throat, but Zeke tells Bertolt that he can not save him this time. When Levi pursues Zeke, Eren urges him to give Armin the Titan serum so that Bertolt can be fed to Armin to turn him into a Titan and save him from death. However, another soldier arrives with Erwin Smith, unconscious but also alive. The soldiers debate who should be given the Titan serum as Bertolt lies unconscious and at their mercy.[65]

Bertolt meets his end

After a fair bit of debating, the group finally decides on who to give the serum to. Bertolt awakes to find himself at the complete mercy of the feral Titan of Armin Arlert. He screams, begging his former allies to save him, but they simply watch as he is grabbed by Armin's Titan. Bertolt cries out for Annie and Reiner before he is eaten alive.[66] Armin has a nightmare about Bertolt before he wakes up. He dreams that the Colossal Titan is crying. He is told by Eren that he ate Bertolt in order to stay alive, to which Armin is mortified to learn.[67]

Abilities

Highly proficient in various hand-to-hand combat styles and has great potential. But lacks in self-confidence and tends to leave it to others when it comes to showing assertiveness.

Bertolt graduated in 3rd position among the trainees, and was noted as the best user of the vertical maneuvering equipment among them. He managed to kill a small Titan without the use of the vertical maneuvering equipment. Due to his high level position, he is also likely to possess other Military and combat skills. He also has a great reflex, parrying and dodging Mikasa's blade from behind.

Bertolt was able to transform into a 60 meter Titan referred to as the Colossus Titan (超大型巨人Chō ōgata Kyojin?, or Colossal Titan) and was the second largest Titan shown in the series so far. In this form, Bertolt was able to look over the Walls that protect the last remnants of mankind. He was also able to retain his intelligence when he transformed as shown when he targets the network of cannons that line the top part of Wall Rose first as a means to quickly cripple the Wall's defense. The Colossus Titan form, due to its large size, is incredibly slow which made it easy for anyone with the vertical maneuvering equipment to move around him. Like Eren, Bertolt was able to induce partial transformation, as he was able to manifest the upper portion of his Titan form on top of Wall Rose to fight against the Survey Corps and not the entire being, but it is unknown if this was made at will or it is just a mistake.[69] His form was also noteworthy for being able to form and dissolve almost instantly, as opposed to most Titans. During the attack on Wall Rose, he was able to dissolve his Titan form literally within seconds, vanishing before Eren could react.[70] This may be related to his ability to generate incredible heat, as he generated a massive cloud of steam before vanishing. Of all currently known Titan Shifter's his transformation had the greatest potential amount of overall collateral damage, enough to cause of flash of unbearably bright light, destroying a large portion of the ground and residential housing areas in the process, and finally creating a giant mushroom cloud-sized explosion to cap it all off. The bright light also throws away all of those in the nearby vicinity far away, forcing them to seek cover from the blast and finally, steam comes off after the transformation is completed. He was only shown explosively shifting once out of his three known transformations.

Regeneration: Bertolt, like all other Titan Shifters and Titans, had the power to automatically regenerate any wounds sustained and even entire parts of body that were lost. This power also extended to his human form, as shown with the fight against Mikasa on top of Wall Rose with Bertolt losing part of his arm and suffering a critical slash to his neck. Later on, in the Titan Forest, Bertolt was seen with his arm regenerated, and his neck fully healed. He also received a deep cut in the chest at hands of Erwin Smith, but he regenerated anyway.

Bertolt releases steam to defend against the vertical maneuvering equipment

Enhanced Strength: The Colossus Titan is physically the strongest Titan shown so far in the series due to its immense size and along with the Armored Titan, they are the only ones who are capable of damaging and tearing down the gates of Walls. With a single strike of his Titan foot, Bertolt was able to breach the south gate of Wall Maria easily, damaging nearby buildings in the Shiganshina District. A sweeping motion with one of his arms was enough to destroy all the cannons on top of Wall Maria as well as damage the upper portion of the Wall.[71] Bertolt’s strikes had enough force to similarly damage the upper portion of Wall Rose and create a shock wave able to push back people, wounding them in the process. He was able to stop Eren's Titan form by simply jumping off a Wall and not even in his complete form.[72] This strike was strong enough to also leave an enormous crater in the ground.[73]

Steam Generation / Heat Channeling: Since Bertolt's Titan form is far too slow to catch more agile opponents with the vertical maneuvering equipment, he possesses a powerful defense mechanism that involves him releasing large amounts of extremely hot and pressurized steam from his body. The steam has enough force to deflect any cables shot from the vertical equipment and burn away or repel close-range fighters. It is shown that Bertolt can sustain the effort of producing large quantities of steam for a timed/limited duration, as seen in the fight on the top of Wall Rose.[74] Although all Titans possess very precise internal temperature control, Bertolt's takes this to a new level. Despite the Colossus Titan's high temperature, Bertolt does not sustain heat damage inside his Titan, and aside from the aforementioned steam generation, he is capable of channeling massive amounts of heat into very fine points and weaponizing it. The super heated air released from its head area was enough to sear the flesh from Armin Arlert's muscles within moments and fuse his vertical equipment straps to his legs.[73]

Bertolt's explosion in Shiganshina

Explosive Transformation: Although all Titan Shifters generate enormous amounts of heat and energy when transforming, Bertolt takes this to the next level. He can control the energy produced during his transformation to create various effects. For instance, when he attacked Trost, his transformation only caused a wind blast who knocked some trainees over the Wall.[75] However, during the retake of Shiganshina, Bertolt releases a similar amount of energy to a small nuclear device, creating a mushroom cloud of dust and rubble, and also ravaging part of the district and killing a great number of Survey Corps members.[76]

Instant Form Dissipation: Although all Titan Shifters produce their enormous Titans in moments, and Bertolt is no exception, he is the only one shown able to disappear entirely in moments. It is unknown exactly how he does this, but it is a fast enough process to avoid attacks by Eren Yeager, who had latched onto his Titan's nape and struck thin air when the body vanished in less than 10 seconds.[77]

Relationships

Reiner Braun - Reiner was his childhood friend, and partner in their mission against humanity. The two were rarely apart, and Bertolt almost always followed along with whatever Reiner decided. However, he was shown to be greatly bothered by Reiner's growing attachment to the others and mental problems.[79] Even so, he rarely spoke up or took any action to oppose Reiner. As he was being eaten by Armin in his mindless Titan form, he screamed out for Reiner and Annie to help him.[80]

Annie Leonhart - Reiner suggested that Bertolt had a crush on her, noting his tendency to always stare at her. In response he blushed and offered a weak protest. Reiner said that once their mission was complete, Bertolt would have to tell Annie how he felt about her.[81] When Armin claimed that she was being tortured by the military, he went into a rage and declared that he would kill everyone.[9] As he was being eaten by Armin in his mindless Titan form, he screamed out for Reiner and Annie to help him.[80]

Marcel - Reiner and Bertolt's childhood friend, Marcel sacrificed himself to save Reiner and was eaten by Ymir at the start of their mission. Upon remembering his sacrifice, they both vowed to complete their mission and return to their hometown.[82]

Ymir - He was initially distrustful of her, warning Reiner that she once killed their friend and was dangerous. His fear of her continued to be a major aspect of their shaky alliance, though he seemed to have changed his opinion after she saved his life.[83] Afterwards, he expressed his gratitude to her and was visibly distressed by her willingness to further risk her life by returning to the Titan Shifters' hometown.

Eren Yeager - Though friendly, the two were not particularly close in comparison to Eren and Reiner's friendship. Bertolt expressed admiration for Eren's courage and the strength of his conviction to fight even after experiencing the horror of a Titan attack. After graduation, Bertolt appeared above Trost District and breached the gate, and he and Eren briefly fought before Bertolt disappeared completely. After his identity was revealed, he behaved hollowly towards Eren while the other became hostile towards him, calling him a "lackey". Eren questioned what Bertolt thought of his mother's death, as he was directly responsible, and Bertolt said he felt sorry for him.[84] This enraged Eren, and he later vowed to see them both die in the most painful way possible.[85]

Armin Arlert - Little interaction between the two had been shown, though his relationship chart in the official guidebook shows that Bertolt considered Armin a close friend. This, of course, sours once Bertolt's true identity was revealed and he threatened to kill Armin when the latter lied and claimed that Annie was being tortured. [9] He is hostile toward Armin when they face off in Shiganshina, once again coldly expressing his desire to kill him and all of his friends. He nearly makes good on this threat not too long after, as he severely burns Armin with a powerful steam discharge while in his Titan form. Later when Armin got injected the Titan serum and his friends returned to the Shiganshina District, Bertolt's final moments were daunting, having been devoured by Armin in his mindless Titan form.[86]

Jean Kirstein and Connie Springer - Both alternately attempted to appeal to their friendship and confront him during the mission to rescue Eren.[87] They mentioned several fond memories from their time as trainees, and Bertolt was visibly distraught by their words. When he finally broke down, Bertolt stated he genuinely thought of them both as his friends.[88]

Failed attempts

Trivia

In Episode 2 of the anime, a young Reiner and Bertolt are in the crowd when the mission to reclaim Wall Maria is announced. This is an anime-only cameo.

The official site reveals his nickname is "Bertl".

He is the only Titan Shifter so far to be shown willingly eating a human, as he did so in order to obtain the victim's vertical maneuvering equipment. He is also thus far the only Shifter not shown transforming multiple times in a single day, leaving it unknown whether or not he is capable of doing so.

Jean mentioned the 104th Training Corps made a game of using Bertolt's odd sleeping positions to predict the weather.[99]

In the game Age of Gunslingers Online, a special Titan Mode was made as a tribute to the series. The final boss is heavily based upon the Colossus Titan, and is fought atop a massive structure. A trailer of this mode can be viewed here.